When Jennifer Lopez turned up for the Golden Globes party at the Toronto Film Festival in early September, she had a special India connection. The actor-singer complemented her dress with jewellery from the Sabyasachi High Jewellery collection. She wore bold earrings crafted in 18k gold with morganites, tourmalines, and diamonds. Earlier, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, Hollywood legend Meryl Streep made a striking appearance on the opulent Grand Theatre Lumiere’s Red Carpet, where she was bestowed with the Honorary Palme d’Or. Indian designer Hanut Singh created the stunning earrings she wore at the event.

At the Met Gala, fashion’s biggest event, pop icon Cardi B turned heads not only for her voluminous dress, but also for her jewellery with emeralds the size of pigeon eggs. Designed by Mumbai-based jewellers Kamyen, she wore a one-of-a-kind 141-carat Colombian emerald, set amongst 127 carats of fancy shaped diamonds.

Singer-entrepreneur Rihanna also has a special affinity for Indian jewellery and is often spotted in creations by Sabyasachi as well as Manish Malhotra, sometimes combining pieces from both, as she did at the launch of Fenty Hair in Los Angeles earlier in June. She wore a three-drop rubellite, tourmaline, and brilliant-cut diamond necklace from Sabyasachi and paired it with a ruby choker from Manish Malhotra made using 18k gold and custom-cut rubies encrusted in diamonds.

India’s jewellery industry, currently estimated at $85.52 billion and expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2024 to 2030, has been having a monumental year, especially with the Ambani (Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant) wedding serving us some of the biggest baubles the world has ever seen. Anant Ambani’s 720-carat emerald brooch designed by Mumbai-based Heeramaneck & Son Jewellers in collaboration with Cartier, was a throwback to the Maharajas of yore.

Renowned maisons (think Cartier) in Europe have for long drawn inspiration from India’s rich history of jewellery design and craftsmanship. However, an increasing number of independent designers are making waves globally today. From the sleek design studios of Mumbai to ateliers in Kolkata and bylanes of Delhi, these jewellers are expanding India’s jewellery heritage with their bold and contemporary designs. And with more and more celebs wearing their creations on red carpets across the world, Indian jewellery designers are basking in the global limelight.

“There is constant inquiry from the most important retailers to bring the Sabyasachi High Jewellery collections to their customers. Saks Fifth Avenue has invited us to exhibit in their Beverly Hills store during the Oscars, and Bergdorf Goodman consistently showcases our new collections and houses a permanent assortment. The overwhelming response during these events proves there is a robust market globally for exceptional products at outstanding value,” says couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who launched his high jewellery collection in 2023 and currently retails it from his ateliers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, and also in New York. “Expanding a jewellery business can be tricky due to the value of the inventory required. We will only expand if the quality remains constant in terms of craftsmanship and the quality of stones,” he says.

While that is true for individual designers, it is less of an issue for large corporates. Last year, Tanishq, a part of the Tata group, launched three stores in the US, located in Houston, San Fancrisco, and New Jersey, with another opening in Chicago this March. Kalyan Jewellers in the ongoing financial year aims to open two stores, one each in New Jersey and Chicago, while Chennai-based Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers plans to open three more outlets in the US, apart from its operational store in Frisco, near Dallas (Texas).

Corporates, too, want a share of the global red carpet. Zoya, a jewellery brand from the House of Tata, collaborated with designer Prabal Gurung for the Met Gala. British actress Simone Ashley wore his outfit and Zoya jewellery at the event.

For designers such as Farah Khan Ali, who set up her eponymous label—Farah Khan Fine Jewellery—in 2004 and has been a favourite of Bollywood stars such as Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, etc., expansion can happen through collaborations. Around a decade ago she collaborated with Tanishq for a couple of years and launched a collection made available exclusively at 40 stores across 23 cities. “It’s the only way to reach a wider audience,” she says. This was followed by a collaboration with CaratLane. Today her jewellery is available in Dubai and at Neiman Marcus in the US, besides her store in Mumbai. She launched her label Farah Khan Atelier in 2021. It is everyday jewellery in the `40,000-`9 lakh price point and is available online. She also has six store-in-store concepts in India, including in Pune, Surat, Lucknow and Ahmedabad for Atelier. She is also looking at growth through a franchise model. “When we get the franchise model going, both couture jewellery and Atelier will be available through the franchise outlets,” she explains, adding that she is in talks and hopes to find the right partners soon.

While Khan Ali may be looking at expansion, for Delhi-based jeweller Hanut Singh, who, for nearly two decades, has been redefining the jewellery landscape with creations that reflect his contemporary sensibilities and aesthetic vision, growth will happen at its own pace. “My journey has been very prolific, so let’s see where it’s headed now,” says Singh. With his jewellery today being available in multi-brand boutiques at Paris, London, Los Angeles, and New York, Singh is a darling of the global jet-setters. The list of his patrons include Beyonce, Cher, Madonna, Kate Winslet, and Katy Perry, among others, while Bollywood stars such as Kareena Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are often seen wearing his creations. “My aesthetic and design seem to reverberate with people across cultures,” says Singh, who is self-taught.

A descendent of the Kapurthala royal family, Singh has had the privilege of growing up surrounded by beautiful jewellery created by masters of the craft. “Today I work with master craftsmen in India but also have a percentage of setting work done abroad,” says Singh, whose talismanic designs, such as the dagger, are very popular. “I’ve always loved talismanic jewels and design, and the dagger is so symbolic of protection. It’s a Sikh symbol. It reverberates with me,” says the 51-year-old.

For Mumbai-based Kamyen, being small and exclusive is its USP. “Our clients like their pieces to be exclusive. They enjoy the fact that these are one-off, made only for them,” says Pooja Gandhi, who handles the family business in Dubai and the Middle East. While the jewellery is designed by her mother along with a team of designers, all the manufacturing and production is overseen by her father in Mumbai. The Gandhis were traditionally in the diamond trade and moved from Belgium to Mumbai in 2005 and moved into jewellery.

The recent sightings of Cardi B and Alia Bhatt wearing Kamyen jewellery have undoubtedly brought this ‘by appointment only’ jewellery house into the limelight. “When Cardi B’s stylist got in touch, we agreed because it was for the Met Gala, which is the epitome of fashion,” says Gandhi. While their high-end jewellery is a one-off and they don’t repeat a piece, in 2018 they launched their Pret-a-Porter collection comprising everyday diamond jewellery, available online globally on sites such as Net-a-Porter.

With global celebs taking note of India’s rich jewellery heritage and artisanal savoir-faire, Indian jewellery designers continue to shine bright.

@smitabw